More Gay Daddies Are Coming, Says New Survey

Here’s true equality. Pretty soon, you won’t just have to endure unending pictures of children from straight people, because us queers are pivoting to starting families now!

According to a new survey from the Family Equality Council, LGBTQ+ millennials are way more on board with having families and raising kids than LGBTQ+ people of any generation prior. The results, released this month, show that 63% of LGBTQ+ millennials are either considering becoming first-time parents or having more children. 77% of LGBTQ millennials, the survey found, either already have a child or are planning on having one.

The survey asked 500 LGBTQ+ respondents and 1000 non-LGBTQ+ respondents to answer a series of questions regarding their plans to have kids.

The survey data suggests that, following the passage of marriage equality in 2015, a boon in LGBTQ+ families may be on its way. While only 33% of LGBTQ+ respondents aged 55 years or older either had children or were considering having children, 48% of LGBTQ+ millennials wanted to have children, which is very close to the percentage of non-queer millennials who want to do the same (55%).

The survey also found that LGBTQ+ millennials contemplating having a family are using a variety of different methods to conceive as compared to earlier generations. Among LGBTQ+ people who already had children, 73% had their children through sexual intercourse, either as part of a previous heterosexual relationship, a different-sex relationship where one or both partners was bisexual. For LGBTQ+ people contemplating having children in the future, only 37% were considering intercourse. The remaining 63% were considering using assisted reproductive technology such as in vitro fertilization, foster care, or adoption to become parents.

Part of the rise in the use of adoption is of course due to the nationwide legality of adoption for same-sex couples, which was outlawed in several states before a federal judge overturned a gay adoption ban in 2016. Currently, some states do have laws allowing private adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples if they have a faith-based objection. But most couples who meet an individual state’s requirements for adoption can move forward with the process.

The survey extrapolated from their data that up to 3.8 million LGBTQ+ millennials may be considering having a family.

For those of us who are not a fan of children, don’t worry, that just means there are more hot dads walking around and our chances of becoming a cold, removed stepmom just increased greatly.